BREAKING NEWS

School Drug Bust A ‘Witch Hunt’

After reading the April 11 front-page article “Zero Tolerance” I admit I was a bit concerned. The article centered itself around the presence of marijuana in the Washington Middle School and said repercussions for possession. The article written by “editorial@post-journal.com” failed to even comprehend the true seriousness of the situation.

Yes, I believe that the possession of a federally controlled substance in a middle school is a seriously contemptuous act. However, I believe condemning the miscreants on the front page of the local newspaper is highly irrational and irresponsible.

As a local high school graduate myself, marijuana has been almost omnipresent in our community for 50 years. To think it is of the utmost importance to report this on the front page of The Post-Journal is simply ludicrous. Marijuana, although lethargy inducing and motivation-hampering, is hardly the crisis-inducing substance you’ve made it out to be.

We all know full well that in five years this substance, or naturally occurring ancient plant, will be legislated and taxed in New York state. To think otherwise would be ignorant and irresponsible. I do believe that we have a responsibility to protect our children. They are after all, the future of this community, state, and country. That said, I do not believe that the unnecessary prosecution of these youths is conducive to their future.

You also note in the article that if any parent has knowledge of any drugs in a Jamestown school they are to, “Please contact the school principal and/or the Superintendent’s office immediately.” That is absurd. That is the kind of thing that only further propagates the irresponsibly regulated situation we currently face as a society. Instead of encouraging students, parents, and others to effectively ruin the future of these children by way of persecution and law enforcement – we should work to instill a stronger anti-drug program within the community.

We should work to enforce the policies on drugs that are destructive in our community. You recently ran multiple stories on heroin busts within Jamestown. Do you know that derivatives of that very drug are readily available in many parent’s medicine cabinets and bedside tables? That the legal drugs are the ones corrupting our youth far faster than a joint of marijuana?

My point is, there are far bigger fish to fry than a witch hunt for marijuana in our local schools.